Fort McHenry and the National Aquarium Celebrate 20 Years of Shared Stewardship on National Public Lands Day

Rangers at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine join with volunteers from the National Aquarium.

NPS Photo

As National Public Lands Day began at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, over 110 volunteers, work gloves, water bottles, and waders in hand, made their way to the registration tent. Rangers from maintenance and resource management readied the heavy equipment and all prepared to get to work in the wetlands. Established in 1999 through a partnership between the National Park Service and the National Aquarium, the wetlands cleanup project has enlisted the help of over 6,000 volunteers over the past 20 years. In that time volunteers have removed over 1.2 million pounds of garbage from the restored wetlands adjoining the park, and continue to return to help each year. Among those wading through the marsh, or picking up trash along the trail, were many couples who began working the event years ago and have since brought their children to participate.

While gathering plastic straws, discarded caps, forks, tires, and an assortment of rubbish washed into the wetlands from the Patapsco River, many volunteers reflected on their own personal impact on environment. As she plucked plastic bottles from water around her, new volunteer Robbin Lee of Columbia, Maryland remarked “Doing this gives me a different perspective on my everyday use of things and how much I throw away. I can definitely reuse more.” These volunteers and the next generation of stewards working beside them help to protect a habitat that is home to hundreds of plant and animal species. Their time invested in caring for the wetlands not only improves Fort McHenry’s historic viewshed, but, one piece of plastic at a time, helps improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay.